THE Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) is committed to making Penang the next logistics hub and a dynamic import and export gateway for the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER).

NCIA chief executive Datuk Redza Rafiq cited the second Penang bridge, Penang International Airport expansion, Penang Sentral Integrated Transport Hub, Penang Port expansion and Ipoh-Padang Besar double tracking rail projects that would make Penang a main hub for export.

“As such, we strongly believe that Penang has great potential to be developed further into a modern, integrated and green transport and logistics hub.

“This will benefit not only the state but the NCER as a whole,” he said at the inaugural NCIA Public Forum entitled ‘Revisiting, Reviving and Refocusing NCER: Implications on Transport and Logistics’ at Wawasan Open University in Penang on Thursday.

The forum, jointly organised with Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute, attracted about 200 participants from government agencies, industry players especially from the logistics industry and university students.

Redza said transport and logistics were crucial and function as key enablers to transform the region into an economic powerhouse.

“They enhance connectivity networks and linkages to spur domestic and international business activity, trading, investment and tourism, besides supporting the industrialisation process.” he said.

With improved transport and logistics services across industries, goods, services and people could move faster domestically and globally, he noted.

“This in turn would help to attract more investment in the NCER, making it a region of choice not only for investors but also tourists, high net worth individuals and skilled talent,” he said.

He added that the Federal Government had taken steps to improve public transportation such as the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) to carry out initiatives under the National Key Result Area (NKRA) for urban public transport.

“The people can thus look forward to improved public transportation facilities and services in the near future,’ he added.

Associate professor Dr Anthony Chin from the National University of Singapore, who is also an Associate Professor of Transport Academy and principal researcher with the university’s Centre for Transportation research, was the forum’s guest speaker.

He spoke on subjects concerning Malaysia’s trade competitiveness in relation to logistics and transport facilitation covering maritime, aviation and land modes.

He also suggested ways for the NCER to boost growth, such as by cultivating high value cash crops like the virgin coconut oil, which was highly valued in urban and export markets.

SOURCE: The Star

HOMEDEC, an exhibition for homeowners, will be held at the Penang International Sports Arena (PISA) in Relau from Friday to Sunday.

It is open to the public from 11am to 9pm daily.

HOMEDEC will be a source of inspiration for those who plan to renovate, refurbish or redecorate their homes.

It features new designs, the latest products and innovations for the home.

The highlight of the event is ‘Kids Living’ where there are ideas and settings to show off designs and solutions for a child’s room.

Celebrity designer Eric Leong will provide home tips while feng shui expert Henry Fong will be available to point homeowners in the right direction to maximise qi within their homes.

Tips on choosing the right wall paints will also be provided.

Visitors who spend a minimum of RM100 in a single receipt at the exhibition will be eligible to join a contest to win the grand prize of Cuisinart, KitchenAid and Omega Juicer products worth RM15,000 and also RM5,000 in cash.

A demonstration on making healthy juices will also be held.

Other prizes worth more than RM40,000 are up for grabs.

Visitors who spend a minimum of RM500 in a single receipt will also stand to win a RM20,000 cash reward.

For details on HOMEDEC, call 03-79824668 or 010-2528622 or visit www.homedec.com.my.

SOURCE: The Star

Palma Laguna Water Park Condo is an iconic city oasis within Seberang Jaya. This landmark development is historically Butterworth’s tallest condominium & sky garden. Its central location near to North-South Highway and Penang Bridge, in close proximity to city living essentials, was specifically selected for our residents’ maximum benefit.

The iconic 3-D grid architecture building soars 38 storeys above Seberang Jaya, commanding spectacular views of the straits. Rising majestically above all with breathtaking views of Butterworth & Penang’s skyline.

Iconic. A true landmark. Butterworth’s tallest condominium & sky garden.

Property Project : Palma Laguna Water Park Condo
Location : Jalan Baru, Seberang Jaya, Butterworth, Penang
Property Type : Condominium
Tenure : Freehold
No of Blocks : Phase 2
No of Storey’s : 38 storeys’
Built-up Area : 1100 & 1040 sq.ft.
Total Units : 382
Indicative Price : RM235,000 onwards
Developer : Landmark Strategy Sdn Bhd (Island LandCap Properties Group)
Website : www.ilcpg.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: Penang is setting up its own Penang Housing Board (PHB), modelled after the successful Singapore Housing Development Board (HDB) and Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) in a long term bid to streamline the development of housing and plan more affordable housing in the state.

While the housing boards in Singapore and Hong Kong, both islands, were set up in 1960 and 1973 respectively, Penang is belatedly starting the ball rolling and hopes to build up its expertise and gather momentum over the years.

The state government is expected to table a motion at the legislative assembly sitting on Monday for the PHB to be set up as a statutory body.

With land for development in short supply on the island, affordable housing has been a scarce commodity. Developers, especially the major players, have preferred to focus on luxury homes and super condominiums to leverage on the high land costs.

The proposed housing board is envisaged to deal with all issues relating to government housing and also play an active role in private housing.

State housing committee chairman Wong Hon Wai told The Edge Financial Daily that currently the state housing department was under the purview of the State Secretary's office.

“Due to the constant change in the civil service where officers come and go, the state government feels there should be a dedicated unit to oversee housing activities in the state.

“The current setup has a limited role and is only maintaining public housing schemes while the private housing sector is managed by the respective building management establishments.

“Once you have a housing board, it can play a prominent and collective role.

“We are looking at Singapore and Hong Kong which have dedicated statutory bodies with dedicated officers managing their housing boards.

“We hope to emulate them and to build up our expertise over the years with a similar model to oversee public housing as well as monitor the private housing sector.

“Under the federal constitution, housing comes under the common list [of federal and state jurisdictions] where state governments have the jurisdiction and power to set up a special body for housing.

“We need to have a dedicated statutory body with the power and jurisdiction especially for affordable housing.

“The board can introduce policies not only as a managing body for the public housing but as a policy making entity to fulfil the needs for housing and also to enforce policies for more affordable housing.

“The board will be the vehicle for us to jumpstart the process for more affordable housing in the state,” Wong added.
It is not immediately known how many employees would be deployed to manage the PHB.

The Singapore HDB is said to have over 4,000 employees while the HKHA is said to have double the number of staff.

Singapore HDB was set up 50 years ago, on Feb 1, 1960, during a housing crisis.

At that time, many were said to be living in unhygienic slums and crowded squatter settlements with only 9% of Singaporeans living in government flats.

Taking over from its predecessor, the Singapore Improvement Trust, HDB was tasked with solving the nation's housing crisis.
HDB built 21,000 flats in less than three years and by 1965, it had built 54,000 flats. Within 10 years of its formation, the housing problem had been resolved.

HDB built cohesive communities within its towns with living environments provided including community spaces for residents.

Today, about 84% of Singaporeans are said to live in HDB flats. The latest rejuvenation programme undertaken is a 20- to 30-year plan to transform the HDB estates and towns into a world class living environment.

The HKHA on its part is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong.

It was established in 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an agency of the government of Hong Kong. In the same year, the Resettlement Department and the Building Section of the Urban Services Department were merged to form the Housing Department, which acts as the Housing Authority's executive body.

Aside from public housing, the HKHA is also responsible for the management of public rental housing estates, interim housing estates, transit centres, flatted factories and ancillary commercial and non-domestic facilities such as shopping centres, market stalls and car parks.

It also acts as the agent for the government when it comes to clearing land.

Hopefully, with a sole agency in charge of public housing, it will enable the state government to undertake more effective resource planning especially for affordable housing in the state.

With Penang being ranked on par with Kuala Lumpur as the eighth most livable city in Asia, the state government has expressed its wish to see more affordable housing for the middle income group.

To encourage developers to build more affordable housing, the state government has announced that it is reviewing the various charges imposed for projects with houses priced below either RM350,000 or RM300,000 for the island and either RM250,000 or RM220,000 for the houses on the mainland.

All this should augur well for both developers and the public. It is timely for the state government to regulate the housing sector and work via its agencies like the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) to build more affordable housing in the state instead of leaving the task to private developers.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, October 29, 2010.

SOURCE: The Edge Property

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara is expected to announce next week measures to curb property speculation and a programme to create financial awareness for the youth, said sources.

The introduction of a loan to value requirement for people buying their third house or more has been talked about, but central bank governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said any new rules regarding property loans would not be a blanket clamp.

“We want to promote house ownership but we want it to be done in an orderly manner and we don’t want speculative activity,’’ she said after a media engagement programme at the Global Islamic Finance Forum.

“So, for first time house owners and perhaps even the second one, any new rules will not apply.’’

Zeti acknowledged there were pockets of property bubbles in the country, but on the whole, steep property rises were not seen throughout the country.

“If we consider there is any imminent risk of a property bubble, of course we will take pre-emptive action. We are not going to wait for the bubble to happen before taking action,’’ she said.

Debate over the implementation of a loan to value ratio has been ongoing and the understanding is that people buying their third house or more would be required to pay a larger downpayment than the current standard minimum of 10% of the value of a home.

On Wednesday, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai told parliament Bank Negara was studying possible policy changes for those taking up loans to buy a third house or more.

He also said prices of properties in several locations in large cities in the country had shot up due to speculation and if the situation was not controlled at an early stage, home prices would go up beyond the consumer’s financial means and may affect socio-economic growth.

Lim said people would also face difficulty in buying houses, which might lead to an increase in debts.

“The loan-to-value ratio will be specific in nature and its implications on the country’s economic growth will be taken into account,” he added.

Zeti said the banking system through its own risk management and governance process was addressing rising property prices and Bank Negara had other pre-emptive areas it might take up.

One example she gave was on financial literacy and management especially for the younger population below the age of 30.

“We want them to be better positioned to manage their finances when they acquire a car and a house in the beginning of the career,’’ she said, adding that the central bank would introduce programmes for those purposes and was ready to deal with any excesses through a wide range of instruments.

Commenting on the mega Islamic banking licences which Bank Negara would issue by the end of the year, Zeti said two parties had been issued conditional licences but expected one of them to be given a full licence by the end of the year after agreeing to the terms set out by Bank Negara.

“We believe the kind of team they have proposed to bring in will contribute significantly to the development and deepening of the market in terms of product development, structuring of Islamic instruments, expertise and participation in the various financial markets including the foreign exchange market since most of their business will be international,’’ she said.

“This will contribute significantly to our financial system.”

The mega Islamic banks would have a paid-up capital of US$1bil each and Zeti said those banks would be the “final jigsaw (piece) to our financial system.”

She said the licences drew interest worldwide but presented challenges to prospective bidders based on the requirements placed by Bank Negara, not only on the capital needs but also in their proposed business plans and the team the licence holder would bring into Malaysia.

“There were two who have been identified and they are making preparations to meet in concrete terms what they have proposed to us. They will of course do some retail business but the focus will be international business as the objective of our liberalisation is to enhance linkages around the world,’’ she said.

SOURCE: The Star